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{{Infobox/row|Writing system|{{{scripts|Latin<br>Iskelan script}}}}}
{{Infobox/row|Writing system|{{{scripts|Latin<br>Iskelan script}}}}}
{{Infobox/header|Official status|style=background:#76ff7a}}
{{Infobox/header|Official status|style=background:#76ff7a}}
{{Infobox/row|Spoken in|{{{country|[[Juya Gwaña]]}}}}}
{{Infobox/row|Spoken in|{{{country|[[Juya Gwaña]]<br>[[Legwa Rina]]}}}}}
{{Infobox/row|Regulated by|{{{regulator|}}}}}
{{Infobox/row|Regulated by|{{{regulator|}}}}}
{{Infobox/header|Speaker|style=background:#76ff7a}}
{{Infobox/header|Speaker|style=background:#76ff7a}}
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Iskel's phonology was initially a combination of English and Spanish. That is still reflected, but it was expanded as Suqi learned more about linguistics.  
Iskel's phonology was initially a combination of English and Spanish. That is still reflected, but it was expanded as Suqi learned more about linguistics.  


Iskel is a pitch-accent language. Every polysyllabic word has a primary stress. Secondary stress may also occur, but it's not obligatory. If it does occur, it can only happen to one syllable, however. Primary stress is marked by a high tone (acute accent in romanization), secondary stress is marked by a mid tone (grave accent in romanization). No stress is marked by a low tone. If primary stress is on the penultimate syllable, it doesn't get written.  
Iskel is a pitch-accent language. Every polysyllabic word has a syllable with a high tone. Low tones also occur, but are not obligatory. If they do appear, they can only occur on one syllable. High tone is marked with an acute accent in romanization, low tone marked by a grave accent in romanization. All other tones are phonetically mid tones. If a high tone is on the penultimate syllable, it doesn't get written.  


One unique feature Iskel has is "narealization", which is essentially the scrunching of the nostrils during a consonant's pronunciation. If emphasized, it may result in nareal frication. This feature, which can occur on every consonant, is primarily for visual communication, but it can be done strongly enough to be heard if needed. Narealization will be transcribed in IPA with the nasalization diacritic (the tilde) since Iskel does not have nasalization.
One unique feature Iskel has is "narealization", which is essentially the scrunching of the nostrils during a consonant's pronunciation. If emphasized, it may result in nareal frication. This feature, which can occur on every consonant, is primarily for visual communication, but it can be done strongly enough to be heard if needed. Narealization will be transcribed in IPA with the nasalization diacritic (the tilde) since Iskel does not have nasalization.


Iskel has no gemination, no allophony, and no phonotactical limits. The latter two features were to increase vocal flexibility for those who regularly speak the language (and it works).
Iskel has no consonant gemination, no allophony, and no phonotactical limits (except for no more than 3 consonants or vowels in a row). The latter two features were to increase vocal flexibility for those who regularly speak the language (and it works). Long vowels can be written as double vowels or with a macron. Phonetically, all vowel sequences in a word are polyphthongic. Orthographically, each vowel is treated as part of a separate syllable.
{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
! rowspan="2" |
! rowspan="2" |
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! colspan="2" |Postalveolar
! colspan="2" |Postalveolar
! colspan="2" |Palatal
! colspan="2" |Palatal
! colspan="2" |Velar
! colspan="2" |Velar/Uvular
! colspan="2" |Guttural
! colspan="2" |Guttural
|-
|-
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!Nasal
!Nasal
|ɱ (m)
|ɱ (m)
|ɱ̃ (mv)<ref>Narealized consonants are distinguished from consonants preceding /v/ by putting a period before the /v/ in the latter case.</ref>
|ɱ̃ (m')
|
|
|
|
|n
|n
|ñ (nv)
|ñ (n')
|
|
|
|
|ɲ (ñ)
|ɲ (ñ)
|ɲ̃ (ñv)
|ɲ̃ (ñ')
|ŋ (ń)
|ŋ
|ŋ̃ (ńv)
|ŋ̃ (ŋ')
|
|
|
|
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! rowspan="2" |Stop
! rowspan="2" |Stop
|p
|p
|p̃ (pv)
|p̃ (p')
|
|
|
|
|t
|t
|t̃ (tv)
|t̃ (t')
|t͡ʃ (c)
|t͡ʃ (c)
|t͠ʃ (cv)
|t͠ʃ (c')
|
|
|
|
|k~q
|k~q
|k̃~q̃ (kv)
|k̃~q̃ (k')
|ʔ (’)
|ʔ
|ʔ̃ (’v)
|ʔ̃ (ʔ')
|-
|-
|b
|b
|b̃ (bv)
|b̃ (b')
|
|
|
|
|d
|d
|d̃ (dv)
|d̃ (d')
|d͡ʒ (j)
|d͡ʒ (j)
|d͠ʒ (jv)
|d͠ʒ (j')
|
|
|
|
|g
|g
|g̃ (gv)
|g̃ (g')
|
|
|
|
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! rowspan="2" |Fricative
! rowspan="2" |Fricative
|f
|f
|f̃ (fv)
|f̃ (f')
|θ (þ)
|θ (þ)
|θ̰<ref name=":0">The tilde diacritic is placed below symbols where it is difficult to see above. This does not indicate creaky voice.</ref> (þv)
|θ̰<ref name=":0">The tilde diacritic is placed below symbols where it is difficult to see above. This does not indicate creaky voice.</ref> (þ')
|s
|s
|s̃ (sv)
|s̃ (s')
|ʃ (ś)
|ʃ (ś)
|ʃ̃ (śv)
|ʃ̃ (ś')
|ʎ̥˔ (ł)
|ʎ̥˔ (ll)
|ʎ̥̃˔ (łv)
|ʎ̥̃˔ (ll')
|x
|x
|x̃ (xv)
|x̃ (x')
|h
|h
|h̃ (hv)
|h̃ (h')
|-
|-
|v
|v
|ṽ (vv)
|ṽ (v')
|ð
|ð
|ð̰<ref name=":0" /> (ðv)
|ð̰<ref name=":0" /> (ð')
|z
|z
|z̃ (zv)
|z̃ (z')
|ʒ (ź)
|ʒ (ź)
|ʒ̃ (źv)
|ʒ̃ (ź')
|
|
|
|
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!Approximant
!Approximant
|w
|w
|w̃ (wv)
|w̃ (w')
|
|
|
|
|l
|l
|l̃ (lv)
|l̃ (l')
|
|
|
|
|j (y)
|j (y)
|j̃ (yv)
|j̃ (y')
|
|
|
|
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|
|
|ɾ (r)
|ɾ (r)
|ɾ̃ (rv)
|ɾ̃ (r')
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|ʀ (rr)
|ʀ̃ (rr')
|
|
|
|
|ʀ (rr)
|ʀ̃ (rrv)
|-
|-
!Click
!Click
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|
|
|ᵏʇˀ (t!)
|ᵏʇˀ (t!)
|ᵏʇ̰ˀ<ref name=":0" /> (t!v)
|ᵏʇ̰ˀ (t!')
|ᵏ!¡ˀ (r!)
|ᵏ!¡ˀ (r!)
|ᵏ!̰¡ˀ<ref name=":0" /> (r!v)
|ᵏ!̰¡ˀ (r!')
|
|
|
|
|𐞥ǂˀ (q!)
|𐞥ǂˀ<ref name=":1">/𐞥ǂˀ/ is a palatovelar click [𐞥ǂ̈ˀ]</ref> (q!)
|𐞥ǂ̃ˀ (q!v)
|𐞥ǂ̃ˀ<ref name=":1" /> (q!')
|
|
|
|
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|
|
|}
|}
[[File:Iskel vowel chart.png|thumb|193x193px|Iskel vowel qualities]]
{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
!
!
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!Back
!Back
|-
|-
!Close
!High
|i
|i
|
|ɪ (ĭ)
|u
|u
|-
|-
!Near Close
!Mid
| colspan="2" |ɪ (ie)<ref name=":1">/ie/, /eo/, and /ao/ are ⟨i.e⟩, ⟨e.o⟩, ⟨a.o⟩.</ref>
|
|-
!Close-Mid
|e
|e
|
|ə (ĕ)
|o
|o
|-
|-
!Mid
!Low
|
|a
|ə (eo)<ref name=":1" />
|ɐ (ă)
|
|ɑ (ą)
|}
<references />
== Morphology ==
 
=== Parts of Speech ===
All nouns end in ''-a'', all verbs end in ''-e'', all adjectives end in ''-o''. In order to turn one into the other, the vowel suffix is changed to its new part of speech. Proper nouns, expletives, adverbs and all other parts of speech may end in any sound. If two nouns placed together modify each other equally (in the semantics), neither are changed to an adjective. Adjectives may be used as adverbs. The only verb that does not end in ''-e'' is the copula ''ix''.
 
=== Cases ===
Iskel only has the dative and genitive cases. The dative marker is an infix ''-ĭĭ-'' placed in the middle of the word, or one phoneme before the middle. If placing it in either location results in the infix being adjacent to 2 or 3 vowels, it is moved to the earliest point where it's only adjacent to one vowel as per the phonotactics.<blockquote>''papa'' (dog) → ''páĭĭpa'' (dog-DAT)
 
''ogyoran'' (homes) → ''ogyĭĭoran'' (homes-DAT)
 
''źiiema'' (Saturn) → ''ĭĭźiiema'' (Saturn-DAT) </blockquote>The genitive case is marked with prefixes that combine with person and number marking, and distinguish between literal ownership and relation. The possessee is marked, not the possessor.
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="2" rowspan="2" |
! rowspan="2" |Basic
! colspan="2" |Genitive
|-
!Ownership
!Relation
|-
! rowspan="3" |1P
!SG
|yos / īo
|mu-
|ñu-
|-
!PL.INCL
|ítio
|áfin-
|állin-
|-
!PL.EXCL
|imos
|xe-
|lle-
|-
! rowspan="2" |2P
!SG
|it
|mi-
|ñi-
|-
!PL
|yare
|wă-
|yă-
|-
|-
!Open-Mid
! rowspan="2" |3P
|
!SG
|
|ime / vul / ksini
|ʌ
|af-
|all-
|-
|-
!Open
!PL
| colspan="2" |a
|imen / vuln / ksinin
|ɑ (ao)<ref name=":1" />
|áfn-
|álln-
|}
|}
<references />
To mark absolute possession (i.e. "the cow is <u>mine</u>" instead of "<u>my</u> cow"), the prefix becomes its own word instead and placed after the possessee.
== Morphology ==


== Syntax ==
== Syntax ==
=== Heads & Dependents ===
All heads precede their dependents except in some word order variations specified in the following section.
=== Word Orders ===
'''SVO''' is used for the indicative mood. To emphasize the indicative mood, one may prefix the verb with ''áxa-''.<blockquote>Imen ixeś atelman españom. / Imen áxàixeś atelman españom.
3-PL COP-FUT person-N-PL Spain-ADJ-ORIGIN / 3-PL IND.COP-FUT person-N-PL Spain-ADJ-ORIGIN
"They will become Spanish people."</blockquote>'''VOS''' is used for the interrogative mood. Relative pronouns can become interrogative by suffixing ''-ðs''. The resulting question is in '''SVO''' order.<blockquote>Ixeś atelman españom imen
COP-FUT person-PL Spain-ADJ-ORIGIN 3-PL
"Will they become Spanish people?"
It q!ome ja it aram-o → It q!ome jaðs it aramo.
2.SG eat-V when 2.SG hunger-ADJ → 2.SG eat-V when-INT 2.SG hunger-ADJ
"You eat when you're hungry." → "You eat ''when'' you're hungry?"</blockquote>'''V↗OS''' (rising intonation on the object) is used for the hypothetical mood.<blockquote>Ixeś atelman españom imen.
COP-FUT person-N-PL Spain-ADJ-ORIGIN 3-PL
"They could become Spanish people."</blockquote>'''↗VSO''' (rising intonation on the verb) is used for the imperative/jussive mood. Alternatively, one may prefix the verb in an '''SVO''' structure with ''híre-'' instead.<blockquote>Ixeś imen atelman españom. / Imen hírèixeś atelman españom.
COP-FUT 3-PL person-N-PL Spain-ADJ-ORIGIN / 3-PL IMP.COP-FUT person-N-PL Spain-ADJ-ORIGIN
"They ought to become Spanish people."</blockquote>'''↗OVS''' (rising intonation on the object) is used for the optative mood. Alternatively, one may prefix the verb in an '''SVO''' structure with ''kwel-'' instead.<blockquote>Atelman españom imen ixeś. / Imen kwelixeś atelman españom.
person-N-PL Spain-ADJ-ORIGIN 3-PL COP-FUT / 3-PL OPT-COP-FUT person-N-PL Spain-ADJ-ORIGIN
"I hope they will become Spanish people."</blockquote>
=== Emotion Markers ===
Iskel has optional particles placed before a clause that mark the speaker's emotion resulting from what is said.
* ''gwĕʔ'' - positive
* ''xwĕʔ'' - angry
* ''t!wĕʔ'' - bummed-out
* ''q!wĕʔ'' - excited
* ''twĕʔ'' - firm
* ''hwĕʔ'' - sad
'''Ĕ''' is replaced with '''Ą''' if the speaker's emotion is weak.
* ''gwąʔ'' - content
* ''xwąʔ'' - irked
* ''t!wąʔ'' - disappointed
* ''q!wąʔ'' - expectant
* ''twąʔ'' - serious
* ''hwąʔ'' - feeling down


== Script ==
== Script ==


== Lexicon ==
== Lexicon ==
=== Copula ===
The copula, ''ix'', is optional to use. The word ''oksete'' (to exist) may be used to mean "there is".
=== Determiners ===
Iskel has no indefinite article and one definite article, ''ĕŋk'', which is only used in cases where the speaker's meaning cannot come across without it.
There are 4 declensions for the demonstrative determiner ''eost''. It can be interpreted as a proximal demonstrative, but is used for topical proximity not physical proximity. Likewise, its distal counterpart ''eostĕ'' is only for topical distance. Both can be inflected for plurality as ''eosn'' and ''éoskĕn'', respectively.
=== Pronouns ===
''Yos'' and ''īo'' are interchangeable as the first-person singular pronoun. Typically ''īo'' is used for emphasis. In cases when the pronoun is repeated in an utterance, speakers prefer to avoid saying ''yos'' or ''īo'' twice in a row, so they alternate between the two. The third-person pronouns come in three forms: common gender, neuter gender, and inanimate. Common gender is used for referring to a specific person or a group of a certain gender. Neuter gender is used for general people, mixed-gender groups, and animals. Inanimate is used for dead people and everything else.
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="2" rowspan="2" |
! colspan="2" |Singular
! colspan="3" |Plural
|-
!Basic
!Reflexive
!Basic
!Reciprocal
!Reflexive
|-
! rowspan="2" |1P
!INCL
| rowspan="2" |yos / īo
| rowspan="2" |yosoi
|ítio
|ítioyan
|ítiosòi
|-
!EXCL
|imos
|ímosyan
|ímosòi
|-
! colspan="2" |2P
|it
|itsoi
|yare
|yáreyan
|yáresòi
|-
! colspan="2" |3P.COM
|ime
| rowspan="3" |''noun-''soi
|imen
| rowspan="3" |yan
| rowspan="3" |''noun-''nsoi
|-
! colspan="2" |3P.NEU
|vul
|vuln
|-
! colspan="2" |3P.INAN
|ksini
|ksinin
|}
"Someone" and "some people" are ''atelma'' (person) and ''atelman'' (people) if they refer to someone in particular, but ''atelña'' and ''atelñan'' if they refer to no one in particular, which covers some instances of "anyone". "Other" and "others" are ''otes'' and ''otésn''. Iskel cannot directly express the concept of "no one"/"nobody".
{| class="wikitable"
! rowspan="2" |Relative/Interrogative
! colspan="2" |Relative
! colspan="2" |Interrogative
|-
!Pronoun
!Sentence
!Pronoun
!Sentence
|-
!who
|ji
|Atelma '''ji''' béibe métia.
person-N '''who''' drink-V medicine-N
"The person who drinks medicine."
|jiðs
|'''Jiðs''' béibe métia.
'''who-INT''' drink-V medicine-N
"Who drinks medicine?"
|-
!what
|ke
|Llekarefan taét '''ke''' plòksevéteñasi.
1.EXCL.GEN-food-N-PL all '''what''' explode-V.PST-PRS
"All our food that has been exploding."
|keðs
|Plòksevéteñasi '''keðs'''.
explode-PST-PRS '''what-INT'''
"What has been exploding?"
|-
!why
|je
|Q!oma '''je''' yos guse ʔunevan.
eat-N '''why''' 1.SG like-V egg-N-PL
"The meal that I like eggs due to."
|jeðs
|Yos guse '''jeðs''' ʔunevan.
1.SG like-V '''why-INT''' egg-N-PL
"Why do I like eggs?"
|-
!when
|ju
|Ĭnsena '''ju''' ime avéña.
show-N '''when''' 3.SG.COM fun-V.PST
"The show when/where she had fun."
|juðs
|Ime áveña '''juðs'''.
3.SG.COM fun-V-PST '''when-INT'''
"When did she have fun?"
|-
!where
|jo
|Gáisa '''jo''' sótia oksétesi.
air-N '''where''' sound-N exist-V-PRS
"The air where the sound is."
|joðs
|Sótia oksétesi '''joðs'''.
sound-N exist-V-PRS '''where-INT'''
"Where is the sound?"
|-
!how
|kamái
|Vézira '''kamái''' ksinin vwale.
speed-N '''how''' 3.INAN-PL fly-V
"The speed that they fly due to."
|kamáiðs
|Ksinin vwale '''kamáiðs'''.
3.INAN-PL fly-V '''how-INT'''
"How do they fly?"
|-
!which/what kind
|ja
|Ax'inan '''ja''' it neguse.
nightmate-N-PL '''which''' 2.SG NEG-like-V
"Nightmares which you dislike."
|jaðs
|It neguse '''jaðs'''.
2.SG NEG-like-V '''which-INT'''
"Which (dreams) do you dislike?"
|-
!how much
|ją
|Ki '''ją''' memseś.
five '''amount''' mind-V-FUT
"Five that will be thought of."
|jąðs
|Memseś '''jąðs''' .
mind-V-FUT '''amount-INT'''
"How many will be thought of?"
|-
!what result
|ka
|Mugusa '''ka''' selátoþa.
1.SG.GEN-like-N '''what_result''' salt-ADJ-QUAL
"My appreciation that results from saltiness."
|kaðs
|Selátoþa '''kaðs''' .
salt-ADJ-QUAL '''what_result-INT'''
"What results from saltiness?"
|-
!catch-all + disbelief
|kă
|Vulkĕn '''kă''' aŋoksete!
Vulcan '''REL.MIR''' NEG-exist-V
"Vulcan, which ''apparently'' doen't exist!"
|kăðs
|Aŋoksete '''kăðs'''!
NEG-exist-V '''REL.MIR-INT'''
"Huh?! Doesn't exist?"
|}
=== Numerals ===
Iskel uses base-12, excluding zero. It does have a numeral for zero, but it is not used in any other numerals.
{| class="wikitable"
!Arabic
!Iskel
|-
!mysterious number i dont remember making
|ca
|-
!Ø (no numeric value)
|áŋkivol
|-
!0
|ʔiv
|-
!1
|ʔu
|-
!2
|to
|-
!3
|ðe
|-
!4
|skwą
|-
!5
|ki
|-
!6
|śe
|-
!7
|ze
|-
!8
|kho
|-
!9
|na
|-
!10
|ye
|-
!11
|ha
|-
!12
|lu
|-
!13
|ʔuʔu
|-
!14
|ʔuto
|-
!15
|ʔuðe
|-
!16
|ʔuskwą
|}
[[Category:Language]]

Latest revision as of 19:49, 16 December 2024

Iskel
Language familylanguage isolate
Early form(s)Lanesil
Writing systemLatin
Iskelan script
Official status
Spoken inJuya Gwaña
Legwa Rina
Speaker
DemonymIskelan
EndonymÍskelam
Number of speakers0
Technical information
Usagenative language
Language codeISK
Iskel's flag

Iskel (ɪsᴋ: [ískel~ísqel], ᴇɴɢ: /ˈɪskəl/) is Suqi's first conlang (begun in 2018). It has influence from Italian, Spanish, Korean, English, and Latin, hence the name. It's a non-naturalistic analytic and agglutinative language. It was intended to be a more efficient way of conveying information where English struggles to in terms of nuance, ambiguity, and regularity. In Nguhcraft, it is an official language of Suqi's primary base Juya Gwaña (which means "ocean cluster" in Iskel).

Phonology

Iskel's phonology was initially a combination of English and Spanish. That is still reflected, but it was expanded as Suqi learned more about linguistics.

Iskel is a pitch-accent language. Every polysyllabic word has a syllable with a high tone. Low tones also occur, but are not obligatory. If they do appear, they can only occur on one syllable. High tone is marked with an acute accent in romanization, low tone marked by a grave accent in romanization. All other tones are phonetically mid tones. If a high tone is on the penultimate syllable, it doesn't get written.

One unique feature Iskel has is "narealization", which is essentially the scrunching of the nostrils during a consonant's pronunciation. If emphasized, it may result in nareal frication. This feature, which can occur on every consonant, is primarily for visual communication, but it can be done strongly enough to be heard if needed. Narealization will be transcribed in IPA with the nasalization diacritic (the tilde) since Iskel does not have nasalization.

Iskel has no consonant gemination, no allophony, and no phonotactical limits (except for no more than 3 consonants or vowels in a row). The latter two features were to increase vocal flexibility for those who regularly speak the language (and it works). Long vowels can be written as double vowels or with a macron. Phonetically, all vowel sequences in a word are polyphthongic. Orthographically, each vowel is treated as part of a separate syllable.

Labial Dental Alveolar Postalveolar Palatal Velar/Uvular Guttural
Plain Nareal Plain Nareal Plain Nareal Plain Nareal Plain Nareal Plain Nareal Plain Nareal
Nasal ɱ (m) ɱ̃ (m') n ñ (n') ɲ (ñ) ɲ̃ (ñ') ŋ ŋ̃ (ŋ')
Stop p p̃ (p') t t̃ (t') t͡ʃ (c) t͠ʃ (c') k~q k̃~q̃ (k') ʔ ʔ̃ (ʔ')
b b̃ (b') d d̃ (d') d͡ʒ (j) d͠ʒ (j') g g̃ (g')
Fricative f f̃ (f') θ (þ) θ̰[1] (þ') s s̃ (s') ʃ (ś) ʃ̃ (ś') ʎ̥˔ (ll) ʎ̥̃˔ (ll') x x̃ (x') h h̃ (h')
v ṽ (v') ð ð̰[1] (ð') z z̃ (z') ʒ (ź) ʒ̃ (ź')
Approximant w w̃ (w') l l̃ (l') j (y) j̃ (y')
Vibrant ɾ (r) ɾ̃ (r') ʀ (rr) ʀ̃ (rr')
Click ᵏʇˀ (t!) ᵏʇ̰ˀ (t!') ᵏ!¡ˀ (r!) ᵏ!̰¡ˀ (r!') 𐞥ǂˀ[2] (q!) 𐞥ǂ̃ˀ[2] (q!')
Iskel vowel qualities
Front Central Back
High i ɪ (ĭ) u
Mid e ə (ĕ) o
Low a ɐ (ă) ɑ (ą)
  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 The tilde diacritic is placed below symbols where it is difficult to see above. This does not indicate creaky voice.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 /𐞥ǂˀ/ is a palatovelar click [𐞥ǂ̈ˀ]

Morphology

Parts of Speech

All nouns end in -a, all verbs end in -e, all adjectives end in -o. In order to turn one into the other, the vowel suffix is changed to its new part of speech. Proper nouns, expletives, adverbs and all other parts of speech may end in any sound. If two nouns placed together modify each other equally (in the semantics), neither are changed to an adjective. Adjectives may be used as adverbs. The only verb that does not end in -e is the copula ix.

Cases

Iskel only has the dative and genitive cases. The dative marker is an infix -ĭĭ- placed in the middle of the word, or one phoneme before the middle. If placing it in either location results in the infix being adjacent to 2 or 3 vowels, it is moved to the earliest point where it's only adjacent to one vowel as per the phonotactics.

papa (dog) → páĭĭpa (dog-DAT)

ogyoran (homes) → ogyĭĭoran (homes-DAT)

źiiema (Saturn) → ĭĭźiiema (Saturn-DAT)

The genitive case is marked with prefixes that combine with person and number marking, and distinguish between literal ownership and relation. The possessee is marked, not the possessor.

Basic Genitive
Ownership Relation
1P SG yos / īo mu- ñu-
PL.INCL ítio áfin- állin-
PL.EXCL imos xe- lle-
2P SG it mi- ñi-
PL yare wă- yă-
3P SG ime / vul / ksini af- all-
PL imen / vuln / ksinin áfn- álln-

To mark absolute possession (i.e. "the cow is mine" instead of "my cow"), the prefix becomes its own word instead and placed after the possessee.

Syntax

Heads & Dependents

All heads precede their dependents except in some word order variations specified in the following section.

Word Orders

SVO is used for the indicative mood. To emphasize the indicative mood, one may prefix the verb with áxa-.

Imen ixeś atelman españom. / Imen áxàixeś atelman españom.

3-PL COP-FUT person-N-PL Spain-ADJ-ORIGIN / 3-PL IND.COP-FUT person-N-PL Spain-ADJ-ORIGIN

"They will become Spanish people."

VOS is used for the interrogative mood. Relative pronouns can become interrogative by suffixing -ðs. The resulting question is in SVO order.

Ixeś atelman españom imen

COP-FUT person-PL Spain-ADJ-ORIGIN 3-PL

"Will they become Spanish people?"


It q!ome ja it aram-o → It q!ome jaðs it aramo.

2.SG eat-V when 2.SG hunger-ADJ → 2.SG eat-V when-INT 2.SG hunger-ADJ

"You eat when you're hungry." → "You eat when you're hungry?"

V↗OS (rising intonation on the object) is used for the hypothetical mood.

Ixeś atelman españom imen.

COP-FUT person-N-PL Spain-ADJ-ORIGIN 3-PL

"They could become Spanish people."

↗VSO (rising intonation on the verb) is used for the imperative/jussive mood. Alternatively, one may prefix the verb in an SVO structure with híre- instead.

Ixeś imen atelman españom. / Imen hírèixeś atelman españom.

COP-FUT 3-PL person-N-PL Spain-ADJ-ORIGIN / 3-PL IMP.COP-FUT person-N-PL Spain-ADJ-ORIGIN

"They ought to become Spanish people."

↗OVS (rising intonation on the object) is used for the optative mood. Alternatively, one may prefix the verb in an SVO structure with kwel- instead.

Atelman españom imen ixeś. / Imen kwelixeś atelman españom.

person-N-PL Spain-ADJ-ORIGIN 3-PL COP-FUT / 3-PL OPT-COP-FUT person-N-PL Spain-ADJ-ORIGIN

"I hope they will become Spanish people."

Emotion Markers

Iskel has optional particles placed before a clause that mark the speaker's emotion resulting from what is said.

  • gwĕʔ - positive
  • xwĕʔ - angry
  • t!wĕʔ - bummed-out
  • q!wĕʔ - excited
  • twĕʔ - firm
  • hwĕʔ - sad

Ĕ is replaced with Ą if the speaker's emotion is weak.

  • gwąʔ - content
  • xwąʔ - irked
  • t!wąʔ - disappointed
  • q!wąʔ - expectant
  • twąʔ - serious
  • hwąʔ - feeling down

Script

Lexicon

Copula

The copula, ix, is optional to use. The word oksete (to exist) may be used to mean "there is".

Determiners

Iskel has no indefinite article and one definite article, ĕŋk, which is only used in cases where the speaker's meaning cannot come across without it.

There are 4 declensions for the demonstrative determiner eost. It can be interpreted as a proximal demonstrative, but is used for topical proximity not physical proximity. Likewise, its distal counterpart eostĕ is only for topical distance. Both can be inflected for plurality as eosn and éoskĕn, respectively.

Pronouns

Yos and īo are interchangeable as the first-person singular pronoun. Typically īo is used for emphasis. In cases when the pronoun is repeated in an utterance, speakers prefer to avoid saying yos or īo twice in a row, so they alternate between the two. The third-person pronouns come in three forms: common gender, neuter gender, and inanimate. Common gender is used for referring to a specific person or a group of a certain gender. Neuter gender is used for general people, mixed-gender groups, and animals. Inanimate is used for dead people and everything else.

Singular Plural
Basic Reflexive Basic Reciprocal Reflexive
1P INCL yos / īo yosoi ítio ítioyan ítiosòi
EXCL imos ímosyan ímosòi
2P it itsoi yare yáreyan yáresòi
3P.COM ime noun-soi imen yan noun-nsoi
3P.NEU vul vuln
3P.INAN ksini ksinin

"Someone" and "some people" are atelma (person) and atelman (people) if they refer to someone in particular, but atelña and atelñan if they refer to no one in particular, which covers some instances of "anyone". "Other" and "others" are otes and otésn. Iskel cannot directly express the concept of "no one"/"nobody".

Relative/Interrogative Relative Interrogative
Pronoun Sentence Pronoun Sentence
who ji Atelma ji béibe métia.

person-N who drink-V medicine-N

"The person who drinks medicine."

jiðs Jiðs béibe métia.

who-INT drink-V medicine-N

"Who drinks medicine?"

what ke Llekarefan taét ke plòksevéteñasi.

1.EXCL.GEN-food-N-PL all what explode-V.PST-PRS

"All our food that has been exploding."

keðs Plòksevéteñasi keðs.

explode-PST-PRS what-INT

"What has been exploding?"

why je Q!oma je yos guse ʔunevan.

eat-N why 1.SG like-V egg-N-PL

"The meal that I like eggs due to."

jeðs Yos guse jeðs ʔunevan.

1.SG like-V why-INT egg-N-PL

"Why do I like eggs?"

when ju Ĭnsena ju ime avéña.

show-N when 3.SG.COM fun-V.PST

"The show when/where she had fun."

juðs Ime áveña juðs.

3.SG.COM fun-V-PST when-INT

"When did she have fun?"

where jo Gáisa jo sótia oksétesi.

air-N where sound-N exist-V-PRS

"The air where the sound is."

joðs Sótia oksétesi joðs.

sound-N exist-V-PRS where-INT

"Where is the sound?"

how kamái Vézira kamái ksinin vwale.

speed-N how 3.INAN-PL fly-V

"The speed that they fly due to."

kamáiðs Ksinin vwale kamáiðs.

3.INAN-PL fly-V how-INT

"How do they fly?"

which/what kind ja Ax'inan ja it neguse.

nightmate-N-PL which 2.SG NEG-like-V

"Nightmares which you dislike."

jaðs It neguse jaðs.

2.SG NEG-like-V which-INT

"Which (dreams) do you dislike?"

how much ją Ki ją memseś.

five amount mind-V-FUT

"Five that will be thought of."

jąðs Memseś jąðs .

mind-V-FUT amount-INT

"How many will be thought of?"

what result ka Mugusa ka selátoþa.

1.SG.GEN-like-N what_result salt-ADJ-QUAL

"My appreciation that results from saltiness."

kaðs Selátoþa kaðs .

salt-ADJ-QUAL what_result-INT

"What results from saltiness?"

catch-all + disbelief kă Vulkĕn kă aŋoksete!

Vulcan REL.MIR NEG-exist-V

"Vulcan, which apparently doen't exist!"

kăðs Aŋoksete kăðs!

NEG-exist-V REL.MIR-INT

"Huh?! Doesn't exist?"

Numerals

Iskel uses base-12, excluding zero. It does have a numeral for zero, but it is not used in any other numerals.

Arabic Iskel
mysterious number i dont remember making ca
Ø (no numeric value) áŋkivol
0 ʔiv
1 ʔu
2 to
3 ðe
4 skwą
5 ki
6 śe
7 ze
8 kho
9 na
10 ye
11 ha
12 lu
13 ʔuʔu
14 ʔuto
15 ʔuðe
16 ʔuskwą
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